If donations continue at their current pace in a fundraiser set up to help Donald Trump pay off the $355 million in damages leveled against him in his recent civil fraud trial, it will take almost six years to reach its goal.
The GoFundMe page titled "Stand with Trump; Fund the $355M Unjust Judgment" was set up by Elena Cardone last Friday, the same day Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that the former president must pay the damages after being found liable for inflating the value of his properties to secure favorable loans and insurance.
The fundraiser had reached $1,058,227 from some 19,100 donations as of Friday.
"If this trajectory remains the same, it will take 5.8 years for Trump to rake in the full $355 million he owes in fine, before interest," Newsweek reported.
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Engoron also barred Trump from doing business in New York for three years.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said that pre-judgment interest will bring the figure to over $450 million, "which will continue to increase every single day" until the judgment is paid. She has also said she plans to seize Trump's assets if he doesn't pay.
Christopher Phelps, a modern American history professor at the U.K.'s University of Nottingham, said the fundraiser likely won't last.
"This GoFundMe campaign, like most such efforts, will see an initial boost of enthusiasm, but that is powered by the particular dynamics of this presidential year. It is highly improbable that it will have any staying power," he told Newsweek.
"Furthermore, $1 million hardly makes a dent in Trump's adverse judgments. Plus he's got bigger problems, like the 91 felony indictments that, if resulting in conviction, will almost surely mean jail time."
